EPISODE · Feb 27, 2026 · 1H
The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy - Part 2
from Book In · host Rupert Fordham and Charlie Fordham
In the second part of Book In’s episode on Thomas Hardy’s great novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, Rupert and Charlie look at the character of Michael Henchard - the qualities which enabled him to rise, and the faults that led to his fall. But is he the victim of his own downfall, or is it the case that in Hardy’s world the universe is random and cruel, and tragedy and misery are the inevitable conditions to which human beings are bound? Why dies the young Scotsman Donald Farfrae succeed where Henchard does not? What was going on in agriculture in England in the early 1840s, before the Corn Laws were repealed? Why are clothes so important to Hardy? What happens when Henchard starts drinking again? And why did friend of the show Henry James describe Hardy as “second rate”? Join Rupert and Charlie to find out.
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In the second part of Book In’s episode on Thomas Hardy’s great novel The Mayor of Casterbridge, Rupert and Charlie look at the character of Michael Henchard - the qualities which enabled him to rise, and the faults that led to his fall. But is he the victim of his own downfall, or is it the case that in Hardy’s world the universe is random and cruel, and tragedy and misery are the inevitable conditions to which human beings are bound? Why dies the young Scotsman Donald Farfrae succeed where ...
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The Mayor of Casterbridge - Thomas Hardy - Part 2
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